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With the Bears cutting Brown mostly because of money, doesn't that pretty much close the door on any free agents expecting money, including Bulger? Should we go ahead and expect secondary and offensive line additions only coming through the draft?

Last year, I thought the worst unit on the Bears was the offensive line. It's actually been bad for most of Angelo's tenure. Why doesn't there seem to be any sense of urgancy in getting this fixed. We need an infusion of talent if we want Cutler to survive and thrive. They need 2 or 3 new bodies. The only Bear who has said anything about the OL is Lance Briggs, who has mention it in two separate interviews. Is this just management staying hush in order not to attract attention so maybe they can get someone in the draft? P.S. Williams and Omiyale were awful last year. The other three are old and declining.

Do you honestly think that JA will trade up too the early 2nd round to get what lovie wants in a FS(maybe they will have breakfast more often then) or do you think that the draft is to get younger offensive lineman?

Looking at available safeties, would the Bears go after Gibril Wilson? I know he had a few good years in NY, and had a good year in Oakland before going to the dolphins. What's his story? Is he dealing with injuries? It seems he's not drawing interest, but he's only 28 and would be better than anyone the Bears have currently.

Neil. With the seemingly low draft picks being given up for quality players {I.E. a 3rd and 4th for Boldin, Cromartie to the Jets for a conditional 3rd, Kerry Rhodes to the Cardinals for a 4th and 7th and even McNabb going for a 2nd and a conditional pick next year} has anyone bothered to ask Jerry Angelo why he was inclined to give up a high 2nd round pick for a guy, who based on the above examples, might have garnered a 4th or 5th round pick. Sorry, but that move still gets me. I am not trying to be mean, but does Jerry have a problem with putting a "draft value" on players whether they be draft prospects {see Mark Bradley, Dan Bazuin, Garrett Wolf, and Michael Okwo} or players he's contemplating trading for. Thanks.

I have read the Bears may attempt to move up in the draft to get Nate Allen from South Florida. If he does last until the early/middle of the second round, what will the Bears have to give up to move up a round or a round and a half?

I think the O line was the worse unit on the field last yr. Safety needs help too for sure. How do you think they plan to address the areas of need? They could dump their whole draft on the 2 positions and not get a good player at either with the picks they have. They still have to make up for the lose of Pace even if he sucked.

However nostalgic we may feel for Ogunleye, Brown, Clark and Vasher, the team has not been good for a few years now. They need to cut off the expensive pieces that clearly are not taking them anywhere.
The problem is that management is only going half way. It is not that the above 4 were/are a problem for the team (Vasher was a liability, the other were all perfectly good players last year), it is that they were part of a team that could not and did not win. In a perfect world the Bears would currently be trading off players like Urlacher, Kreutz and Harris for picks and using those picks to build a younger roster. But the GM and head coach are working for their jobs this season, so they don't have the luxury of doing what just about everyone knows they should be doing.

If the Bears do not win this year, and I don't find it particularly likely that they will, how much of this team is going to get dismantled when Lovie and Angelo are shown the door? Will they be able to get value for any of the declining, injury plagued, expensive veterans on the defense? (I exempt Briggs, who I think is still an elite player.) Will Bears ownership be willing to hire a new coach and GM who insist on tearing everything down and starting over?

I know this all sounds quite negative. I am just worried that we will look back on this off season and see it as totally wasted.

Assuming we draft a OT/OG or FS in the early rounds, what do you think the chances of them starting at the beginning of the 2010 season are? Considering the trend of poor draft picks we've seen in the past, it doesn't seem likely we'll be upgrading those positions anytime soon because most rookies aren't exactly plug and plays for the Bears (even if they are talented enough to start.)

Which players from the practice squad have a shot of making the roster this year? I am thinking about specifically Turenne, Malast, Asiata, Marten (even though he was on the active roster for a few games last year), Peterman, and Ta'ufo'ou?

Looking at who was let go, there appears to be openings for Malast and Turenne, and potentially Marten and Ta'ufo'ou to make the roster. Obviously draft choices will impact this, but do any of them have a real chance of making the roster?

Malast would be a much younger replacement for McClover, and Turenne could take Vasher's roster spot.

Not sure if Marten can play RT or not, and Ta'ufo'ou might not be able to beat out Eddie Williams.

I thought the Bears receivers were terrible route runners last year. I vividly recall players like Johnny Knox, cutting off slant routes, letting defenders get better position on plays they had no business getting. I think all of the receivers did this to a certain extent and are responsible for a few of Jay Cutlers Interceptions this year

I am wondering, Why did the bears retain the services of their Wide receivers coach? They seemed like the most undercoached squad on the feild. Granted they are an inexperienced group. But when people are cutting short on a slant routes, thats not something that can go un fixed, and it did.

2nd question

Q: Why does this organization trust in its ability to draft a starting safety, (with no first day picks) when they have failed to do so for the entirety of Smith and Angelos's tenure?

3rd Question

Do you see any problems with player development within this organization? Perhaps this is just a gut reaction to the careers of players like Cedric Benson, Marc Columbo, and Bobby Engram; But it seems like we lose a lot of quality players who never produced anything while in Chicago.